Michael B. Jordan makes important movies. There are few actors out there who have associated themselves so consistently with important stories, especially since it dates back to the dawn of his career. At 33, Jordan’s work is defined by starring in Ryan Coogler’s directorial debut Fruitvale Station, his role of Adonis Johnson in the Creed films and an all-time great Marvel performance in Black Panther as Killmonger.
This week, the actor was chosen as one of Time’s 100 influential people in the world, alongside Parasite director Bong Joon Ho, Tyler Perry and Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge. When delivering a toast during the broadcast special honoring this year’s Time 100, Michael B. Jordan said the following:
I want my work to be part of justice as a whole. When you see these glimpses of strength and solidarity, I think it just makes me want to be better; it makes me want to work harder. If I can do a bit of that hard work—if I can afford them more opportunity so they can stand on my shoulders and be a little bit taller—I think I’m doing my job.
The actor talked about finding inspiration in the generation currently fighting for injustice in the United States in the midst of the global pandemic. Since the killing of George Floyd, protests all around the world have taken to the streets to call for police reform. The actor’s role in Fruitvale Station back in 2013 certainly remains in the conversation since it tells the true story of Oscar Grant, who was killed at a BART station in Oakland, California by a police officer.
Michael B. Jordan's work in Black Panther with Ryan Coogler also takes the director’s roots in Oakland to tell the story of Erik Killmonger, a memorable MCU villain who seeks revenge for the death of his father from Wakanda in the worldwide phenomenon. Last year, Jordan also starred as defense lawyer Bryan Stevenson in Just Mercy with Jamie Foxx, which exposes injustice within the U.S. prison system. Check out Jordan speak about his career in response to his Time 100 status:
Along with these roles, Michael B. Jordan also has been getting into producing, with Creed II, Just Mercy and the upcoming Without Remorse being among films he also has behind-the-scenes credits on. He has also become the first major actor to adopt the use of an inclusion rider, which requires filmmakers to hit specific diversity benchmarks when hiring their cast and crew. Recently, Jordan started a drive-in movie series in honor of underrepresented communities, playing movies such as Get Out, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Coming To America.
Recently, Michael B. Jordan lost his close friend and hero to many of us, Chadwick Boseman, and wrote a touching tribute where he said he would be dedicating the rest of his days to living the way the Black Panther actor did. Jordan has already left quite the mark on Hollywood and I'm intrigued to see his career grow and continue to examine the values he holds dearly. Maybe he’s ready to play Superman after all? Stay tuned on CinemaBlend for more movies and TV news.
